The Cyberspace Administration of China on Tuesday announced a two-month campaign targeting what it calls “irregular tipping” in both group and private livestreams. 

Tipping is a common practice during livestreams, where viewers purchase and send virtual gifts to the host in a show of support or in exchange for certain behaviors. But in recent years, livestreamers have begun engaging in exploitative, fraudulent, and sexually suggestive acts to solicit greater amounts of money from fans, which the government seeks to correct.

The cyberspace administration, established in 2011 as China’s national internet regulator, urged platforms to “ameliorate the rules around tipping during livestreams,” “perfect livestream tipping controls,” and “strengthen the code of conduct for livestream tipping.”

The authority outlined a broad range of prohibited practices, such as cracking down on vulgar livestreams in which hosts solicit tips by exposing themselves or employing sexually suggestive behavior, known informally as cabian, or “skirting the edge.”

The campaign will target livestreaming fraud, including the use of fake personas claiming poverty or elite status, impersonation of professionals, and staged hardship or abuse. The government will also police AI-generated content, as well as scams targeting the elderly or exploiting minors, conduct charity fraud, and promote high-priced collectible buybacks, among others.

Authorities will further curb practices that encourage impulsive tipping by limiting the value of virtual gifts and one-time tips, banning ranking systems that give streamers who receive larger tips greater online exposure, and sending out daily alerts to livestream viewers about the dangers of large-sum tips.

The crackdown comes in response to a series of recent high-profile cases in which livestreamers lured older viewers to send large tips in just a few clicks. In April, a 61-year-old man in the southwestern city of Chengdu sent 13 gifts of 3,000 yuan ($420) to a livestreamer in a single day. He had been diagnosed with depression at a local hospital prior to the incident. Then, in September, a 62-year-old man tipped a livestreamer 600,000 yuan, partly financed via a 100,000 yuan loan.

Although tipping by minors was banned in 2022, the Beijing Internet Court has handled nearly 700 cases involving underage spending on online games and livestream tipping over the past three years. The highest individual amount reached 3.1 million yuan, and the average case involved spending over 80,000 yuan. “These cases show a trend of younger consumers spending increasingly large amounts,” a judge at the court told local media. 

China’s online performance industry, including livestreaming and short videos, generated revenue of 213 billion yuan in 2024, up 1.5% year on year, according to a report by the China Association of Performing Arts. The sector included approximately 193 million streamer accounts as of the end of May 2025, with around 33 million monthly active accounts.

The recent effort is part of a broader Qinglang, or “clean and bright,” campaign launched by the Cyberspace Administration of China, a recurring initiative aimed at fostering a healthier online environment, addressing issues related to malicious short-video marketing and AI misuse, the spread of false information on social media, and minors’ online protection.

Editor: Marianne Gunnarsson.

(Header image: Visuals from Douyin, reedited by Sixth Tone)